This essay seeks to investigate leadership styles and coaching philosophy on how coaching affects the way each individual reacts and performs. A coaches philosophy can be viewed as ‘core values’ to what the coach looks at to produce the best their athletes can be. A coach can develop their own coaching philosophy from having knowledge of strengths and weaknesses of an individual and by knowing an athletes personality and goals in order to adapt to the training (Reynolds,2005).
This essay will also explore the role of the coach and the different coaching methods the coach may use in order to get the best out of the athlete. A coaches philosophy can often be viewed as the ‘right’ philosophy. This is not always true as some coaches value certain methods more than other coaches or athletes. There is no actually ‘right’ coaching philosophy as they are built from opinions and self values.
Some coaches philosophies are not always good as some may think intense training 5 days a week builds athletes while others may think 3 days intense training with 2 days of light training builds the best athletes etc. This is where coaching theories arise. Some coaches can get this idea from watching big athletes achieve big things from heavy loading of training blocks while others witness success with little amounts of effort put into training, it all depends on the individual. A good coaching philosophy is believing in passing on knowledge to people without any of their own.
(Hanson,2018,). Passing on knowledge is always interpreted differently by each individual which is what creates different coaching styles and leadership theories. If everybody had the same thought process then there would be no differentiation in training programmes, the result of that would be producing the same kind of athletes/participants. All coaches have their own personal views and attribute that they value when coaching. The way they coach is down to their own personal coaching philosophy which is understanding and developing a coaching practice. Some coaches may value strict and direct sessions as they may believe they are successful in getting individuals to listen.
Other coaches have their own coaching philosophy and believe that their way is the only ‘right’ way and dismiss any disagreements or valid arguments. Disagreeing with the coaches strict, personal views can lead to more autocratic methods as the coach may turn to make the athlete work hard as a sense of punishment for not following instructions. A good, strong relationship with the coach is vital for sports performance. This is because the coach and athlete can then work together on deciding what the best outcomes could be and what routes in training/competing to take.
While conflicts and disagreements are always bound to happen, it is the job of both, the athlete and coach to push past and achieve set goals. (ConnectedCoaches, 2018) this shows the core values of what needs to be met by the coach. The role of a coach is to direct and instruct the athlete/participant in the best way possible.
A coach is supposed to give the best coaching techniques, training methods and motivation possible to each individual in the best way for them. Motivation is known as the ‘fire’ that fuels great performances (Wayne Goldsmith,2017)The main reason for the participant to take part in sport is normally for the enjoyment that they get out of it. This is also another role of the coach as if they are not providing enjoyment in their session the morale of the athletes will not want to continue training. This is a psychological factor that the coach has to think about as psychological factors are also key to performing the best of their ability.
All athletes have different personality types that the coach will always have to account for. If there are introverts within a football team it may be difficult to treat them as you would treat the rest of the team who may be extroverts. Extroverted people are thought to do team games like football as a lot of loud shouting between teammates and the coach is required. This is when the coach has to adapt to the individual as an introvert may not feel comfortable with this going on and lose motivation. When this happens a coach may take an individual to the side give them a personal task to complete so they have a focus for the rest of the game/session. This coaching technique may lead to higher morale in the team as each individual can feel as if they completed a task or successfully contributed.
(UNIT 3 The Mind and Sports Performance,page 4,2013). There is a general agreement that the coach is needed for more than just providing hard work and should bring enjoyment to training. To get the right training programme for the athlete the coach must identify all the strengths and weaknesses of the individual in order to carry out the right coaching methods for the individual athlete. Without the right coaching method the coach may cause injury or not help the athlete progress the way they need to to compete at the level they are aiming for.
If the coach does not motivate the athlete and inspire them to achieve great things, the athlete may have poor performance issues because they have not been given praise or any sort of indication that they are training well or have potential. There are athletes that know they are among many individuals with the same ability as them which may give a psychological block during competition. Mental blocks often occur from a lot of pressure or stress. It is the coaches job to notice this and try to reduce these problems by having motivational talks or lowering intensity so athletes can complete training programmes to their level if needed.(craig sigl, 2016). All athletes have different personality types that the coach will always have to account for. If there are introverts within a football team it may be difficult to treat them as you would treat the rest of the team who may be extroverts. Extroverted people are thought to do team games like football as a lot of loud shouting between teammates and the coach is required.
This is when the coach has to adapt to the individual as an introvert may not feel comfortable with this going on and lose motivation. When this happens a coach may take an individual to the side give them a personal task to complete so they have a focus for the rest of the game/session. This leads onto the different type of styles that leaders can use in order to get the best out of the athlete/player.
Each coach has a different ideology on what can make an athlete great, but quite often the same idea doesn’t work for every athlete as all individuals are built, shaped and genetically different. It is down to the coach to help build and develop a great athlete to their highest potential and only then will the coach be satisfied. Some believe you can create a great athlete while others believe that great athlete are born. Some athletes improve massively due to training compared to others because their training work for them. Others are just naturally talented at their sport and therefore can compete at high levels with not much training.
This is due to genetics and biological factors. This is why a leader often uses different styles to train their athletes individually as some may adapt to training training than others. “Development goals included focus on tactical, skill and technique development” (pilus ; saadan, 2009, page 80) this suggest the coach will approach each aspect with a different method for the athlete.
This evidence highlights that that you can train and bea great athlete while also being born great athletes. Leadership styles – There are many leadership styles that a coach can use to give the participants a good understanding of the plan ahead. The autocratic leadership style shows that the leader should provide clear expectations and will focus on commanding the participants appropriately to achieve the best out of the game/session. This leadership style is best received when there is a need for strict guidance amongst the group. This is because this style works well at getting people’s attention and pushing them in the right direction with strong commands.
This style works especially well with people that require a close watch and need direction. This can only really be followed through if the leader has a good amount of knowledge about the autocratic leadership style as it has a greater impact on those receiving. (terry McMorris & Tudor Hale) Martens split coaching into two styles,command and cooperative.
The command style is more of a loud instructive style which can be used in uncomfortable situations, for example when the noise is too loud and the athletes are not listening, or when the instructions have been given but they have not been carried out by the athletes. These are when the command style comes into effect the most. The cooperative style has an opposite effect of the command style. If a coach uses this style it is generally because they are trying to intrinsically motivate the athlete and boost their socials factors. (terry McMorris & Tudor Hale) This can be done as a way to positively communicate during games as teammates are more likely to effectively carry out good play when they are fond of eachother and hold good relationships. (Molly moran & maureen r. Weiss 2006)As expected, with a democratic leadership style the leader/coach is usually centered around the athlete and is relationship oriented. While a coach with the autocratic style is usually task oriented and likes a tight structure some coaches can often blend the two leadership styles depending on the athletes responses, ability and understanding.
(terry McMorris & Tudor Hale),. If the participant isn’t happy with the coach/leaders leadership style they may move to another as the style may not work and benefit them. This is where different leadership styles are useful as many individuals cannot work/train under the same type of leadership style and needs a format that they are comfortable with. This is why it is important that leaders have their own philosophy as they are likely to get the same type of athlete who values the same beliefs and understands the reasonings behind certain leadership styles and methods. Laissez faire…..?If needed the coach may use a situational teaching method based on the session. For example, if one of the athletes is struggling the complete the training session because of personal issues, ability or is just having poor training session.
The coach will then try to work round the athlete by changing the session sightly to make it able to complete to a good level. If the athlete is not working well in this kind of situation in training, the coach may try to make a fun way of working hard so that the work gets done while having fun at the same time. Depending on how motivated you are that will influence how well that you work. The athlete may feel motivated or demotivated in certain environments depending on how the athlete felt in that situation. The situation that you are in is key to how you perform. This is because if you are feeling comfortable in the environment you will always remember how you felt in future competitive situations. This is why it is important the coach creates good training sessions and gives good motivation in competition so that the athlete always feels good in many environmental situations.
(terry McMorris ; Tudor Hale), martens, 2004) However because of the pressure they will come under performing in a similar situation the nerves could overcome them, depending on how focused the athlete is and if they don’t let the nerves overcome them. In football, if the athlete has previously fouled somebody while they were in the penalty area and gave away a penalty. They would be less likely to behave like that again as their actions in that situation were not appropriate.
(Timothy T. Robinson & Albert V. Carron, 1982 )To conclude, this assignment has addressed a number of significant issues which shows that individuals require their own training methods that benefit them personally. It has also addressed the way that coaches can do this with the different personality types that may be in the group while also touching on the viewpoints coaches may understand to be good and lead by.
